CHARS Conversion from UB-92 to UB-04 billing document format

Project Status: Jan 2nd, 2009
We have about 60% of the hospitals and 45% of the discharges being submitted under the UB04 system. We are actively working with many hospitals to convert their data to the new UB-04. For more information about submitting test files please contact Kim Dunlap. (360) 236-4208 We are expecting July 2008 data in the 837 file format. For more information about UB04 contact: Julie Rhodes, RHIA - CHARS Business Liaison  Julie.rhodes@doh.wa.gov - Phone (360) 236-4223 

Bulletins
Manuals
Reference
Background
FAQ's


UB-04 Development Bulletins
Bulletin 19-2009 (September 11, 2009)
Bulletin 18-2009 (November 14, 2008)
Bulletin 17-2009 (May 30, 2008)
Bulletin 16-2009 (May 2, 2008)

Manuals
UB-04 CHARS Procedure Manual (February 15, 2008)
CHARS UB-04 Companion Guide Introduction  (August 16, 2007)(word)
CHARS UB-04 Companion Guide File Detail  (August 16, 2007) (excel)


Reference
Legislative website listing Washington Administrative codes (WAC) 246-455  
CHARS Data Elements in the WAC and mapping to the UB_04 Form Locator Positions (March 27, 2007)


Specialized Topic Page
CHARS Hospital Representative and Technical Information Page
This page is for data provider hospitals to stay informed on their role.
Frequently Asked Questions - Hospital Representative FAQ's
This page is for answers to common questions about our new UB-04 CHARS
Frequently Asked Questions - CHARS Technical FAQ's
This page is for answers to common technical questions about our new UB-04 CHARS
Washington Administrative Code (WAC) Change Process
Review the new CHARS WAC.
Recommendation Committee
Review the work of the committee which recommended additional elements to collect for the CHARS system.

Overview:
The Department of Health's (DOH) Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System (CHARS) collects data on every inpatient admitted to every community hospital in Washington State.  Hospitals are required to submit this information to DOH and the data hospitals submit is captured in the hospital's billing system.  That data is based on a standard hospital billing document known as the UB-92.  This UB-92 document and the underlying data set are recognized as the standard billing information required by all major insurance plans covering hospital care. The UB-92 is being superseded by the UB-04 billing document. 

The End Result:
The CHARS system will be able to handle all the UB-04 form changes including the additional quantity of current elements and any elements added from the public review process that are included in the final WAC. The collection of data as well as the processing, correction and dissemination will all work more efficiently and accurately after the work flow upgrades.

Why does CHARS need to be renovated
As healthcare changes over time, billing datasets require updating to sufficiently capture the information required by health plans to document care.  In 1994, the UB-82 dataset was superseded by the UB-92 dataset.  Now, another revision is at hand.  Healthcare industry experts have been working for years on a revision to the UB-92 dataset and that revision, the UB-04, is now ready to be adopted by the industry.  Most insurers will begin accepting the UB-04 by late 2006 and are expected to completely convert to the UB-04 by the middle of 2007.  To accommodate the requirements of the new UB-04 dataset and to transmit the revised information set to insurers, hospitals will need to modify their billing systems.  Since the data hospitals will be sending to CHARS will now be derived from the UB-92 dataset, DOH too will need to modify its requirements and its system to accommodate the UB-04 dataset. 

Project Facts:
CHARS collects data from 94 community hospitals which include 130 Medicare certified units such as acute, psychiatric, rehabilitation and swing bed units. There were 644,902 discharge records collected in 2007 and 634,046 in 2006. The public data has added value elements such as the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services "Diagnosis Related Group" and "Major Diagnostic Group".

Confidentiality Information:
There are confidential elements collected which are only released after going through a review process to qualified researchers as well as public elements which according to state law can be released to anyone. The confidential elements are also used to create public releasable data such as age at admission which uses the confidential admission date minus the confidential birth date.

Contact Information:
email: Chars UB-04 Process
Comments or questions regarding this process or this web site?
Send email to Hospital Data at CHS